A total of 43 vehicles were involved in a dozen separate crashes after blinding snow blew across a stretch of I-75 on Thursday morning. / Detroit Free Press

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Michigan State Police Trooper Seth Swanson reached through the rear passenger-side window of the smashed car and checked the vital signs of a little girl in the backseat and the boy next to her.

Neither was conscious, breathing or had a pulse.

It was Thursday morning, and he had just been dispatched to the multi-vehicle accident -- one of several on southbound I-75 that morning after a heavy snow squall blew over the roadway, blinding drivers. He recounted his experience during an interview today.

Swanson said he went around to the other side of the car, used a hammer to break out the rear window and checked a third child.

She had a faint pulse.

He went to work, clearing her airway and administering rescue breaths. The girl -- who police say is 10 -- took a deep breath and started screaming.

Swanson said he held the girl’s head and neck, as the sounds of ambulance sirens grew, and looked at the other children in the car.

“At that point, I’m still looking at two unconscious children, and it was rough,” Swanson said. “It’s very difficult for me to see the good out of all this.”

In total, 43 vehicles were involved in a dozen separate crashes along a roughly 1-mile stretch of I-75 that morning, State Police Lt. Michael Shaw said. He said 12 people were transported to area hospitals. Menelaos (Larry) Manolis, 54, of Allen Park was killed in a crash along the interstate.

The Windsor Star has reported that Gabrielle’s father is Glen Greenwood of Windsor. He was injured, as was his wife, who remained hospitalized Thursday, police said. A post on a Facebook page for Greenwood thanked Swanson for saving his daughter.

“That young man is my hero and saved my little girls life,” the post reads. It continued, "i am in eternal debt to that officer.”